Just so you know, Tina Fey was making Harvey Weinstein jokes on “30 Rock” five years ago
It’s been exactly one week since The New York Times published a stunning in-depth expose into decades of sexual harassment and assault by Harvey Weinstein, who until last week, was seen as one of the most powerful men in Hollywood.
By Tuesday, Weinstein had been removed from The Weinstein Company, the studio he co-founded with his brother Bob, and The New York Times and The New Yorker published additional explosive pieces recounting the traumatic experiences of more than a dozen women — including Rose McGowen, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Mira Sorvino, and Ashley Judd. Since then, a growing number of women — at least 28 and counting — ranging from A-listers to aspiring actresses to former employees have spoken out about their own harrowing experiences with Weinstein.
While Hollywood struggles to determine exactly how people secretly knew about Weinstein’s penchant for sexual harassment, it’s clear that the allegations have been making their way around the industry for some time now.
In 2012, 30 Rock aired an episode titled, “Kidnapped by Danger,” which was written by Tina Fey herself and follows Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) as she enters into a feud with Weird Al Yankovic. As Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) attempts to talk his TGS costar out of declaring an all-out war with the parody singer, Jenna retorts by saying she’s not afraid of anyone in show business because she’s turned down sexual advances from Harvey Weinstein on more than one occasion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ceNfXrccbQ?feature=oembed
30 Rock made a second reference to Weinstein making advances on Jenna during an episode one year later, Season 7’s “Florida.”
Another 30 Rock Harvey Weinstein joke from S7E10. pic.twitter.com/haAC3QPHhh
— Mira G (@TheLiberalPulse) October 9, 2017
While the references may come off as jokes, it’s clear that 30 Rock pulled no punches in calling out disgusting behavior, long before Hollywood power players were willing to condemn Weinstein’s abhorrent behavior. Also, don’t forget — 30 Rock was talking about the Cosby allegations way before they came to light. We applaud 30 Rock for being a comedy show about show business that didn’t shy from pointing to the industry’s underbelly.
